George Vernon Hobson died suddenly on 15th March, 1959, in Berkshire. He was 65.
Dr. Hobson entered the Royal School of Mines in 1911 but at the outbreak of war in 1914, in common with his fellow students who were within a few weeks of completing their final year’s training in mining, he interrupted his college career to enlist in the 21st Bn Royal Fusiliers. Soon he was commissioned in the Royal Garrison Artillery and served in France and Belgium. While serving he was awarded the B.Sc. (War) degree of the University of London and in 1920, after a year’s refresher course following demobilization, he completed his training, received the A.R.S.M. and gained the coveted De la Beche Medal. His researches on the geology of mineral deposits later gained for him the D.I.C. of Imperial College and the Ph.D. of the University of London.
He was appointed junior mining engineer with Braden Copper Co., Ltd., Rancagua, Chile, in 1920 and in the following year joined the Geological Survey of India where he remained for thirteen years. As assistant superintendent he was principally engaged on investigating mining methods in the Indian mica fields and in the Pench Valley coalfield, but he was also curator of the Survey Museum and during 1925-1926 was professor in charge of the geology department of Presidency College, Calcutta. In 1929 Dr. Hobson was made officiating superintendent, and in 1931 Assistant Director of the Survey.
He left India in 1933 for Namtu to take up the post of geologist to Burma Corporation, Ltd., and two years later was appointed chief geologist to Mawchi Mines, Ltd., where he was mainly concerned with tin and Wolfram deposits. In 1939 he went to West Africa as geologist to Gold Coast Banket Areas, Ltd., and South Banket Areas, Ltd., but in the following year returned to the United Kingdom to serve again with H.M. Forces, first in the Royal Artillery (Anti-Aircraft) and then with a commission in the Pioneer Corps.
Dr. Hobson was released from war service in 1941 and spent another year on the Gold Coast before returning to Britain, where he joined the Ministry of Works as prospecting officer for opencast coal a few months before he was promoted Assistant Director. After the change in Departmental control, Dr. Hobson was in 1945 appointed Assistant Director (Development) of the Directorate of Opencast Coal Production, in charge of all prospecting operations until 1949, when he left to resume private practice as a consulting mining geologist. He was awarded the O.B.E. in the 1950 Birthday Honours.
For the last nine years he had been fully engaged on consulting work, both in the United Kingdom and overseas.
He was the author of several papers published in the Records and Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India and in the Transactions of the Mining, Geological and Metallurgical Institute of India. Two of his papers are published in the Transactions of the Institution: ‘Mica and its international relationships’ (vol. 36, 1926-27), and ‘The Gold Coast banker: some aspects of its geology in relation to mining’ (vol. 52, 1942-43), in joint authorship with Mr. A. Michael Robinson. He also contributed a paper last year to the Symposium on the Future of Non-ferrous Mining in Great Britain and Ireland, entitled ‘Barytes in Scotland, with particular reference to Gasswater and Muirshiel mines’.
Dr. Hobson joined the Institution as a Student in 1920, and was transferred to Associate Membership in 1924 and to full Membership in 1927. He had served on the Council of the Institution continuously for seven years from 1950 to 1957, and again in 1958-59 until his death.
Professor W.R. Jones writes: One of the delightful sides to Dr. Hobson’s character was his genuine desire, at all times, to be helpful to students in mining and geology. He never failed, during his occasional visits to London when on leave from India, to accept wholeheartedly an invitation to give a few unpaid lectures on his special subjects to the R.S.M. students. I well remember the time and trouble he took, during one such leave, to prepare and deliver three lectures on mica deposits — a subject on which he had authoritative knowledge — to the geology students in my department.
To those of us who knew and appreciated this aspect of his character, it was no surprise to learn that in his Last Will and Testament he left a substantial sum to aid such students.
Vol. 69, Trans IMM 1959-60, pp.43-44
